SDTX charges another 262 people with immigration and related crimes in support of Operation Take Back America

Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

HOUSTON – A total of 262 new cases have been filed related to immigration and border security from Aug. 8-14, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

Among those are 109 people who face charges of illegally reentering the country. The majority have prior felony convictions for narcotics, violent crimes, sexual offenses, prior immigration crimes and more. A total of 132 people are charged with illegally entering the country, while 15 people were allegedly engaged in human smuggling. The remaining cases involve other immigration crimes and firearms offenses.

One of those charged is Osvaldo Martin Acevedo-Rodriguez for allegedly being an alien illegally in possession of a firearm. During a traffic stop in Edinburg, authorities found a .40 caliber pistol as well as a THC cartridge and methamphetamine in his possession, according to the complaint. The charges further allege he had been removed from the country on at least one prior occasion. He faces up to 15 years in federal prison.

In another case filed this week, a crash and rollover resulted in hospitalization and human smuggling charges for a 22-year-old Laredo resident, according to court records. Mario Alberto Mercado allegedly failed to yield to law enforcement, turned off his headlights and accelerated in an attempt to flee. Mercado crashed the black Cadillac he had been driving into a tree, according to the charges. The four passengers in the vehicle were allegedly treated for minor injuries and determined to all be in the United States illegally. Mercado faces up to 10 years in prison, upon conviction.

Criminal complaints also allege three individuals attempted to unlawfully reenter the country after they had already been removed this year. Honduran nationals Mauricio Misael Martinez-Martinez and Irma Alcerro-Catano were previously removed Feb. 19 and May 17, respectively, according to court records, while authorities removed Mexican national Domingo Martinez-Vasquez May 7. Each allegedly has prior felony convictions, including illegal reentry, possession of a controlled substance or assault of a family member. All three were allegedly found in the United States without legal authorization and now face up to 20 years in federal prison, if convicted.        

In addition to the new cases, a Brownsville federal jury returned a guilty verdict against the owners of Abby’s Bakery and Dulce’s Café in Los Fresnos for employing and housing illegal aliens within their restaurant. The jury deliberated for less than three hours before finding Leonardo Baez-Lara and Alicia Avila-Guel guilty as charged following a two-day trial. Testimony revealed they hired and harbored workers who were in the United States illegally or on B1/B2 visas without having the right to work. The jury heard that employees were living in a storage area with only one exit, sleeping on mattresses and rarely had hot water.

“The jury’s verdict vindicates the American people’s mandate that our immigration laws be fully enforced,” said Ganjei. “Business owners who put profits over their fellow citizens by harboring illegal aliens should be advised that the Southern District of Texas will not look the other way.”

One notable case announced out of the McAllen office was Cesar Rafael Leon, who was taken into federal custody following a crash during an alleged smuggling attempt through the Rio Grande Valley. According to the charges, Leon picked up five illegal aliens, ignored orders to stop, fled after the deployment of a vehicle immobilization device and eventually struck a law enforcement vehicle. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

In Victoria, a federal jury deliberated for only 23 minutes before finding a Guatemalan man guilty of felony reentry after removal. Miguel Angel Puac-Ramirez was a passenger during a traffic stop and provided a Guatemalan identification card listing a College Station address. Authorities determined he had no legal documentation to be in the United States. The defense attempted to convince the jury the case lacked the foundation for a conviction by literally piling up bricks on the jury box. The illustration was ineffective. The jury did not believe those claims and found Puac-Ramirez guilty as charged. He also faces up to 20 years in prison.

These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – Homeland Security Investigations, ICE – Enforcement and Removal Operations, Border Patrol, Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.

The cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.

Under current leadership, public safety and a secure border are the top priorities for this district. Enhanced enforcement both at the border and in the interior of the district have yielded aliens engaged in unlawful activity or with serious criminal histories, including convictions for human trafficking, sexual assault and violence against children.  

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas remains one of the busiest in the nation. It represents 43 counties and more than nine million people covering 44,000 square miles. Assistant U.S. Attorneys from all seven divisions including Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo work directly with our law enforcement partners on the federal, state and local levels to prosecute the suspected offenders of these and other federal crimes. 

An indictment or criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.nvicted through due process of law.